


The Bluejeans Redemption

by WritingIsMyCoffee



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Barry's framed for a crime he didn't commit, Barry's real name is Sildar Hallwinter AU, Blood, Credit to whoever made that AU it's golden, F/M, M/M, Murder Mystery, Or did he???, Takes place after Magnus' death, Typical TAZ violence, Which is what the major character death tag is for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-04 20:52:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13372854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingIsMyCoffee/pseuds/WritingIsMyCoffee
Summary: Kravitz thinks he knows plenty about Barry Bluejeans after working with him for so many years. His real name is Sildar Hallwinter, he can't cook to save his life, and he is madly in love with Lup Taaco.Even after Barry is arrested by The Raven Queen's other emissaries for casting the one spell forbidenn by all the gods of their plane-the spell that can kill both mortals, reapers and gods themselves-he still believes he knows Barry well enough to see that he was framed.





	1. Barry Bluejeans

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I was done with TAZ fics after What Follows but here we are
> 
> I've actually had this idea for a while now, since I'm a sucker for "Who framed who?" kind of stories. I have no idea what the upload schedule will be so hang with me. Hopefully I can finish this and not go off on too long a tangent that leads to it being longer than I originally planned (Ex. What Follows).
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this regardless!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz makes a discovery. Barry loses more than once. Lup gets out of extra work.

Even with the century his dear husband and coworker had to learn everything they could about a certain Barry Bluejeans, Kravitz believes he still knows a great deal about the man. Mainly because of the thousands of memories that were projected into his mind on the day of Story and Song.

Barry was the main science officer onboard the famous _Starblaster_ , a renowned chemist and necromancer in his origin plane as in his current plane of residence. The necromancy bit still throws Kravitz off a bit from time to time, given the man’s soft demeanor and the fact he wears a pair of blue jeans every day. How can someone dive into the most forbidden class of magic and yet wear the most casual clothing every day? Barry seems like the person who should be mowing lawns in a pristine suburban neighborhood than raising hoards of the dead.

He also knows Barry has been in a romantic relationship with a certain Lup Taaco for over five decades now, and yet to his husband’s dismay-“Krav it’s so unbearable! This is agony! They won’t tie the _fucking knot_ , I shit you _not!_ We got married how long after we met? Like-like a little under a year? These two are killing me. _Literally_. They’re reapers. Get your Bird Mom to force ‘em together or something.’”

Kravitz must constantly remind Taako not to call The Raven Queen, the ethereal ruler of all souls who have passed on from the land of the living, the woman who keeps his own soul bound to his corporeal form, “Bird Mom.”

However, it’s hard not to agree with Taako when so many memories from the day of Story and Song depicted the love shared between the elf and the human clad in denim. If soulmates are real (and after meeting Taako, Kravitz suspects this to be so), then Lup and Barry must have been made for each other.

Whatever the reason-the fear of rejection, possibly-the two remain as girlfriend and boyfriend, respectively. As much as it makes Kravitz want to scream whenever the two are in clear vicinity of him, he respects their decisions and is willing to support them in whatever they do next with their relationship.

There are many other facts he has learned about Barry besides the ones previously mentioned.

The man’s real, gods-given name is Sildar Hallwinter, which is just as hard to pronounce as it is to conceive.

He received the idea for the name Barry when someone at the IPRE institute mistook him for a man named Darry and wrote it down on his application. He later changed it to Barry because he had secretly hated the name Sildar his whole life.

Now, the Bluejeans nickname was created out of the fact he wears blue jeans every day. If Kravitz were Taako, his response to that would be, “Yeah, no shit.” Since he is not, his response is, “No shit.”

He refers his coffee black when working but with enough creamer to drown a person when he has time off. His favorite food appears to be anything the twins cook up (as it also seems he has no culinary talent whatsoever. You would think a whole century stuck on the same ship would have given Taako and Lup amble time to teach Barry how to _at least_ microwave leftovers). His favorite hobby is swimming in a cold lake on a hot day, he’s an exceptional piano player (something he picked up in less than a year), and can become driven at times it scares Kravitz. Barry has stayed up over twenty-four hours just doing research before he was ever undead, has taken down cults of the undead all by himself whenever they provoke him in any way, and refuses to ever let his coworkers take the fall for any reaping jobs gone bad.

(The Raven Queen knows this last part, and Kravitz often finds her punishments are less severe whenever it’s Barry who shoulders the blame.)

Overtime, Kravitz has come to think of Barry almost like a brother. Someone he can confide in, someone he knows he can trust and be trusted in return, but also someone he needs to remind to take care of himself sometimes. The man is more self-destructive than he realizes.

 

“Barry, to your left!” Kravitz calls out as he spars a fretful glance in the man’s direction. Half of his mind is always trained on his coworker’s well-being whenever they’re off doing their job. The other half is spent making sure his coordination helps his scythe keep with the ungodly mass of necromancers trying to swarm him. He cuts through another robed immortal-wanna-be while he’s yelling out that sentence.

“I see ‘em!” Barry hollers back. A second later, a startled cry rings through the air and another necromancer falls to the ground. “Thanks!”

“Don’t mention it,” Kravitz huffs, currently engaged in a grueling duel with who he assumes is the leader of the pack. A tall figure with imposing muscles hidden underneath their robes and a wand whose tip glows a sickly green every time it’s ready to fire off a spell. They’re certainly not the most intimidating necromancer Kravitz has crossed paths with but they have enough fire power to throw off his balance. One of the bolts of magic ricochets off the side of his scythe, sending him stumbling backwards as the bolt flies directly towards Lup. The pyromancer is too caught up in setting someone’s ass ablaze to notice.

“LUP, BEHIND!”

“HUH?” Lup asks, turning around just in time to see the projectile. Effortlessly, she sends a fireball at it, disintegrating the magic entirely, and returns to what she was doing.

A sigh escapes Kravitz, but his moment of relief is short lived as another bolt of magic hits him square in the jaw. Judging by the pain that courses through him, he guesses he’s been hit by Finger of Death. Fantastic. Good thing being immortal comes with an infinite amount of health points.

Still hurts like hell, though.

He cries out involuntarily, tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground hard. It’s humiliating more than anything. The Grim Reaper, the Boogieman, the one who kills without rhyme or reason, falling onto his butt like an imbecile. Taako’s going to have a field day with this one when Lup tells him what happened with her trademark dramatic flair.

“KRAVITZ!” he hears Barry and Lup call out at once.

“I’m fine-!” he tries to respond before the necromancer before him slams a massive boot straight down on his sternum bone. The air leaves his lungs in an instant, temporarily dazing him. Technically he doesn’t need to breathe, but he’s kept up the habit ever since he met Taako to try and seem less…well dead.

He’s not really concerned about the necromancer, whose face is partially illuminated from the fire Lup is spouting all around her. Kravitz catches the faint trace of a scar, faded with age but ailing in color, running a jaded pass from the top of their forehead to the indent in their chin. Their strong jaw and wild stubble makes Kravitz assume they must be a man, which is only back up by the low gravely tone in their voice as they begin chanting some sort of spell. Or at least it sounds like a spell. It could be a curse for all he knows.

All he’s really thinking about right now is bragging to Magnus about how he met someone with a better scar than him when he goes to visit his island soon. He also wonders what Taako is preparing for dinner tonight. Maybe the pasta noodles shaped like bow-ties in that white sauce he likes.

White sauce. He’s just as educated as Barry is, really. Who is he to judge?

Kravitz manages to intake some air, raising his scythe low enough not to be noticed by the necromancer. He aims it towards their ankles, which he knew for a fact would hurt tremendously, and readied himself to strike.

Right as he’s about to swing, there’s a thunderous _swish!_ and a gallon of blood rains down on Kravitz’ face. Great. He just had his shirt dry-cleaned in Neverwinter. The bill now is going to be hell to pay.

He’s too blinded by the red liquid to act, but thankfully someone knocks the necromancer off of his chest and he is freed. He’s too blinded by the red liquid to act, but thankfully a certain someone knocks the necromancer off his chest with a massive bout of flame. Freed, Kravitz wipes the blood covering his eyes and flicks the blood off his gloves. “How inconsiderate,” he mutters.

“You’re welcome,” Lup coos, offering Kravitz a hand with a smirk on her face. He accepts it, thankful the blood covers up some of his embarrassment. “Hey babe, nice slice-and-dice action you did there. Really Bobby Flayed his chest.”

Barry chuckles bashfully. “Heh, I wasn’t really aiming. It just…sorta happened.”

“Well, I appreciate the two of you coming to my rescue,” Kravitz assures then, leaving out a comment about how he wishes they could have saved his dignity in the process. With a reputation like his, even the smallest hiccups make him look like a clown. “Now, can one of you finish off this fellow while I wring myself out? Oh, and since he’s the last one, include the rights list if you’d please.”

Barry and Lup exchange an equally horrified look before Lup smacks a finger to her nose. “NOSE GOES!”

“Nose-aww babe!” Barry whines.

“Nope! Too slow, nerd. It’s your turn to play policeman.”

“But I just did it for you yesterday,” Barry grumbles as he begrudgingly walks over to the charred necromancer slowly bleeding to death. Kravitz starts wringing his hair out (dried blood does not look good braids, let him tell you), barely paying any mind to the wheezy words the necromancer tries to spout out before he is reaped.

With a flick of the wrist, Barry’s flesh slowly melts away to reveal pristine white bones, bulky around the upper torso and hips, and glowing green flames where his eyes would be. Both Barry and Lup insisted on keeping their red robed appearance for their reaper transformation, possibly as a warning to anyone in the plane who wanted to attempt to do what they did back in their stolen century. Whatever the reason, Kravitz does have to admit the crimson robe does add the same element of fear his black ones do.

Despite his obvious annoyance, Barry plays his role perfectly. He stands with one arm held out to the side with his scythe, while his other hand is pointed directly at the dying necromancer. “Mortal, for interfering in the laws of The Raven Queen and crossing the boundaries between with the living can cross, I hereby sentence you to death for your crimes.” A large parchment materializes in Barry’s outstretched hand, detailing the exact number of grievances committed.

“Wowza, check out crispy dude over here,” Lup whispers, her grin evident in her voice. “That list’s longer than Taako’s grocery lists.”

Kravitz does have to admit after giving the list a quick glance it’s longer than most. A part of him is slightly impressed this person has evaded them for as long as he has. The other part of him is wondering how much paperwork he will have to fill out for this later.

“Unauthorized rituals, ransacking a shrine dedicated to The Raven Queen, ransacking _another_ shrine to The Raven Queen, illegal use of necromancy in the first degree, raising the dead on multiple occasions…”

The list goes on and on. Barry starts off a real champion, reading each crime with gusto in his voice, but after the fifteenth or sixteenth item, his demeanor changes. It grows quieter, almost timid. Kravitz starts to wander if he’s dozing off.

Then Barry goes silent. Kravitz flips his hair back over his shoulder and smooths out his lapels. He holds back a sigh, not wanting to show his disappointment in Barry’s performance. After all, the three of them have been working together for decades now; he should know to take every rights reading seriously. He doesn’t want to call him out on it later, but their job must be done correctly.

Someone must keep them in tip-top shape. Kravitz just wishes it wasn’t him sometimes.

Suddenly, a wave of magical energy washes over the three of them. It’s a numb sensation at first, like a mild chill in the air biting at his exposed skin.

Then it starts to burn.

Lup must feel it too, because as Kravitz falls to his knees she falls with him. His vision goes hazy, his lips feel chap, and his skin is melting off his bones without his consent. What tastes like poison rises in his throat, spilling out of the sides of his mouth and soaking into the earth in dark, curdled clumps.

It’s worse than any physical pain he’s ever felt before. Worse than the necromancers that killed him as a mortal, worse than the black sea that fought to swallow him whole, and worse than any pain any known spell can conjure. It’s draining him from his core, from the power The Raven Queen bounded to him to make him who he is.

Kravitz has the horrible feeling that he’s dying.

However, just as the pain started, it stops.

Kravitz first instinct is to start blinking, rapidly, until his eyelids ache. He can see. He can see everything in full detail. He sees his broken form, his clothes ruined from the melted flesh and dark liquid dried to them.

His next instinct is to check on his coworkers. Lup is hacking up leftover muck from her lungs, her breathes labored and nearly stagnant. She appears just as worn as he is, with extra burns on her body from possibly trying to resist whatever spell they were hit with. Kravitz puts a malformed hand on her back as she continues to cough. “Lup? Lup, how do you feel?”

“Peachy,” she wheezes once all the liquid is out of her system. “Hey, what the fuck was that?”

“I…I-I don’t know,” Kravitz admits. He rises to his feet, rather shakily, and helps Lup raise to her own. Slowly, their forms begin to mend themselves back into their original state, but Kravitz notes it takes much, _much_ longer than it should.

Something feels off-feels _wrong_ about this scenario, and Kravitz tries to hide how much it terrifies him.

He feels a tight grip on his arm that (to his dismay) startles him. He looks down and is met with Lup’s steel gaze. “Barry.”

Kravitz snaps his head toward Barry’s direction, for a moment afraid that the fellow reaper is in worse repair than they are.

To his astonishment, Barry is completely fine.

Not only is he fine, he appears livelier than ever, as if there is more arcane energy swirling around inside of him. His reaper form practically glows, perfectly illuminating the newly-branded markings of a hex surrounding him. The marks form a flawless circle spanning the width of his stance, its symbols fresh and dark enough to be read from where Kravitz is standing.

As his eyes scan over the markings, their irregular symmetry and off-putting patterns sprawled within the circle, something in Kravitz’ gut tells him he’s seen this before. His magically-transmuted blood turns to ice in his veins as it finally dawns on him what marks he’s reading. It’s something old, something ancient, just like him.

He’s seen these markings before, and the last time he did, hundreds of people died.

Including reapers.

Kravitz is vaguely aware of Lup asking Barry how he feels, too engrossed in the fact that the necromancer laying right next to Barry has flat-out vanished, body and all. He can hear his heart beating in his chest (another habit he picked back up upon meeting Taako), and it’s deafening.

A prickling sensation comes over Kravitz, itchy and heavy all at once, and he knows in that very instant if he doesn’t act fast, Barry will be in danger.

He cuts off whatever snarky comment Lup was saying, grabbing her wrist to keep her following Barry when he yells, “ _BARRY RUN-!_ ”

Too late. His warnings come too late as a sphere of black smoke and slick feather encapsulates Barry before he even has time to react. A dozen rifts open from the astral plane, a fully-cloaked reaper stepping out of each and every one of them. Kravitz recognizes them all, even with the absence of flesh decorating their bones. He knows them all, has worked with them all, but their fields are different than his.

He does the reaping, they call judgement.

One of the reaper hovers forward, a scythe in one hand and a piece of parchment in the other, too much like Barry mere minutes ago. Their voice carries out across the broken field they all stand in, littered with the bodies of the necromancers the three of them slaughtered. With each word they speak, Kravitz’ heart sinks further in his chest.

“Sildar Hallwinter, you have committed the one spell forbidden by all gods in this realm and attempted the murder of Kravitz Taaco and Lup Taaco. You hereby sentenced by the Council of The Raven Queen, as The Raven Queen herself, to a trial to discuss your motives and your immediate execution afterwards.”


	2. Abernathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz has the worst reunion ever. Lup loses her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the OC's aren't terribly important to the plot. I just need more reapers. Hang with me here.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has given me such positive feedback on the first chapter! Hopefully this fic isn't disappointing or anything moving onwards.

It’s no surprise to Kravitz how Lup loses her gods damn mind upon hearing her lover is mere hours away from being executed. She screams at the reapers accusing Barry for answers, nearly pulling out her scythe to get their attention.

Kravitz barely manages to convince her to keep her head as The Raven Queen’s council takes Barry into custody, whisking him away in a puff of black smoke the moment the reaper with the parchment is finish reading. Once Barry is gone, the parchment evaporates into smoke as well.

The reapers surrounding them draw back their hoods together, nearly perfectly in synch, and flesh wounds its way back onto their skeletons. Kravitz spies many familiar faces in the crowd, faces granted he hasn’t seen in possibly a little over a century, but familiar none the less.

There’s Marisa, a kind halfling who he reaped himself before she came to work under The Raven Queen. Another innocent victim of a necromancy cult too blinded with curiosity to be concerned with the lives of others.

Bennet, a tiefling who once helped him back down a hoard of the undead on the outskirts of Goldcliff long before the _Starblaster_ ever crossed into their plane. A kind fellow, but a little too rambunctious at times.

Conwell, an older man who finds it harder to fill out paperwork than to reap people, despite all the wisdom he possesses.

Then there’s Tonya, David, Emil, Alex, Anthony, Hector, Sydney, Ethyl, Johnson, Garrison, Emil, Caleb, Suzanna-

Kravitz knows everyone here, as he should.

He trained every one of them.

The reaper holding the parchment shifts back into their mortal form, donning a pressed black suit like Kravitz’ (or _would_ have been like Kravitz’ a few minutes ago). Their pristine facial features are held in an indifferent expression, as if the events of the evening have met nothing to them.

Kravitz wouldn’t be shocked to hear if this is true.

The reaper glances over in their direction, arching a single eyebrow into the air, and snaps his fingers. On que, Kravitz’ old pupils encircle him and Lup, holding them at scythe-point.

Flame licks at Kravitz’ gloves, no doubt caused by Lup’s shaking fists. Regardless, Kravitz reaches down and takes her hand, squeezing it for dear life. It hurts, but significantly less than the pain he has just experienced. Kravitz sees Lup turn to look at him from the corner of his eye, but keeps his gaze with the reaper walking towards them. It’s more for his sake than hers.

None of his apprentices scare him. It’s their inexperience that does.

“Kravitz, what a pleasure,” the reaper smiles coldly. “How come I don’t find it surprising that I found you here, hmm?”

“Where are you holding him, Abernathy?” Kravitz asks, evading his question.

“You know I’m not allowed to tell you that, Mr. Rule Book,” Abernathy replies, clearly amused. “I’d expect the teacher’s pet to at least know how a proper investigation works.”

“Hey, _watch it_ dickhead,” Lup growls. Her flames grow hotter, slowly burning Kravitz’ hand. He doesn’t pull away.

Abernathy takes one long look at Lup and visibly pales. “Oh shit. You’re really Lup. _The Lup_ , aren’t you?”

“Yeah, and you’re an asshole. What did you do to Barry?! He didn’t fucking do _anything!_ ”

“Didn’t do anything?” Abernathy makes a grand gesture to the wasteland of discarded necromancers around them before finally pointing at the markings engraved in the stiff earth below their feet. “ _That_ is the mark of a hex that has been banned from this plane for eons. It’s the mark of a spell that can kill any mortal, erase any spirit, including reapers and gods.”

Lup’s fire dies out. “Kill…a god? How?”

“No one can know. Or at least, that’s how it was supposed to be. Somehow, the beloved Barry Bluejeans himself has betrayed our very court and the very gods of our plane. It’s truly tragic if you think about him.”

It’s clear as day how strongly Abernathy is feigning his sorrow, apparently not holding as much awe for the former science officer as he does for Lup.

Lup clearly notices this and sets the hand not holding Kravitz’ aflame again. “The only one who gets to call him beloved is _me_ , dick waffle-“

“Abernathy,” Kravitz cuts her off. As much as he would love for her to go off on his former mentee, the last thing he wants right now is for her to be put in contempt. “Enough. Ask us your questions, then let us go see him. The _rules_ of the court state that any suspect held in custody may have visitors before their trial.”

Abernathy shrugs and it must take all Lup’s willpower not to throw a punch at him. “What is your connection to Mr. Hallwinter outside work?”

“Friend,” Kravitz answers.

“Boyfriend,” Lup responds.

Abernathy turns to Lup. “Really? You two haven’t exchanged vows yet or anything?”

“ _Really_ ,” Lup says through grit teeth.

“Huh,” Abernathy remarks. “Pity. Should have done it before it was too late- “

“ _Abernathy_. Stay on track,” Kravitz snaps. This entire exchange only strengthens his not-so-fond memories of his apprentice. Always running his mouth, never knowing when to call it quits.

Abernathy gaze narrows. “Fine then. How long have you known Mr. Hallwinter?”

“Around fifty years.”

“One hundred and fifty years.”

“Has he ever shown any interest of using necromancy to prolong life or take it away from others?”

Lup’s nostrils flare. “Is that supposed to be an unfair question?”

“It’s a simple question,” Abernathy assures her with stone-cold words.

“If you can remember well from the day of Story and Song, yes, but it was to save the lives of every being in the multiverse,” Kravitz reminds him. “That evidence cannot be denied. I believe we all remember that.”

A few mumbles of acknowledgement rise from the group of reapers around them. Abernathy silently fumes. Whatever he wishes to gain from this will not be handed to him on a silver platter.

“What inspired him to delve into necromancy in the first place? I believe the answer to that occurred way before Story and Song, eh Kravitz?”

“How do you expect us to know?” Kravitz quips. However, he notices how Lup stills beside him.

Abernathy must, too. He smiles at her with plastic fondness. “Ah, he must have told you, right? Knowing a guy for long…they’re bound to tell you everything about them.”

Lup frowns, her lips sinking down to the edges of her chin.

“Ms. Taaco, if you don’t answer my question, I will have no choice but to charge you with resisting the court. Or possibly as an accomplice, given the circumstances-“

“No,” Kravitz blurts out before he can stop himself.

“It’s her choice whether she answers or not,” Abernathy reminds _him_ , and if that doesn’t just make Kravitz feel more helpless. Abernathy has the run of the court- _literally_ -knowing that everyone fears the same thing here. If he wants to charge Lup, he can charge Lup and no one will come to her defense.

Besides, Taako will never forgive him if he lets something happen to his sister. He may already not forgive him because of Barry.

Lup takes a deep breath, holding it in long enough for Kravitz to get worried, before releasing it quickly. “He chose to study necromancy because… _because_ …”

She’s battling herself, Kravitz can see that. It pains him to watch.

“I’m waiting,” Abernathy says in a sing-song voice.

It’s the final straw, and before Kravitz can stop her, Lup goes off. She yanks Abernathy by the collar of his button-up shirt and pulls him closer so he’ll fall face-first into a fistful of fire if he tries to move. The reapers close in around them, the points of their scythes dangerously close to Lup’s vital arteries. They can’t kill her, but it’ll hurt like a motherfucker and leave her prone.

“You ever payed a visit to our home plane, _buddy?_ ” Lup asks, her words thick with venom. “You ever taken a trip to Barry’s hometown before? Ever read up on the history? Well it wasn’t a very pretty place when he was little.”

A deafening silence falls over the field of broken bodies. Every small breath from the reapers surrounding them makes Kravitz’ skin crawl. There’s nothing he can do to diffuse the situation; he can only let it play out and hope for the best. Lup has murder in her eyes and Abernathy’s glisten in the orange flames, covering up his intentions.

Finally, after a small eternity, Abernathy speaks. “I have done my history actually. You may recall a certain interdimensional planer…oh, what was it called? I believe you invented it, Ms. Lup. It helped you travel to other planes, right?”

The fire in both Lup’s hand and eyes flickers.

“I’m still waiting for my answer.”

Cornered, Lup slowly, _slowly_ releases Abernathy and lets him fall to his feet. Straightening his collar, Abernathy nods towards the reapers surrounding them. The group takes a few steps back far enough to where their weapons aren’t an inch away from their necks.  Kravitz takes a deep breath while he still can.

“Barry was eleven,” Lup mutters so quietly she’s nearly inaudible. “He was eleven and there was a dead squirrel and-“

Abernathy’s eyes widen. “So it was a deliberate act of necromancy, wasn’t it?”

Lup realizes her mistake. “T-That’s not-that’s not what I’m trying to-“

“He saw a dead animal and wanted it to come back to life, is that correct?”

“Stop twisting my words-“

“I’m only trying to state the obvious, ma’am.” Abernathy snaps his fingers and points at one of the reapers in the circle. “Somebody writing this down?”

Four very frantic reapers put away their scythes and scramble to retrieve a pad of paper at once. Kravitz can’t decide what disappoints him more: how Abernathy has them all wrapped around his finger or how he was ever promoted to such a rank in the first place.

The corners of Lup’s mouth twitch with every word she tries to get out. “He was just a little boy-!”

“A little boy who ignored the consequences of necromancy and continued to use it far into adulthood. And I believe that is enough for now.” With that, the reapers all draw their scythes back and cut open several portals, each hopping into their respective ones. Abernathy retrieves his own scythe and stands before Kravitz and Lup with a thin smile on his face. “I’ll get back to you two if I need anything else. Thank you for your cooperation.”

As he cuts open his own portal, Kravitz can’t help but scoff at his turned back. What did he ever see in that boy? His arrogance should have been a big enough red flag from the start. Now look where they are.

Abernathy turns, a coy look plastered over his face. “Oh c’mon, Kravitz. It’s nothing personal. It never has been.”

Then he hops into the astral plane and vanishes.


	3. The Raven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz holds out for a sign. Lup gets angry. Barry worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just real quick, thank you all for the positive feedback so far! It's always so reassuring to know you're all enjoying it :)

It angers Kravitz, despite knowing the severity of the spell Barry has been accused of casting, that his friend is being kept in the most guarded cell of the Eternal Stockade.

All the good Barry has done with his life-helping to save the multiverse the big one that comes to mind-seems to have been cast aside in his case report. Kravitz had been fortunate enough for Marisa to sneak him a copy (the perks of having a pupil who actually likes him) and finds as he reads through it that nothing can compare to the act suspected of him. It is also apparent Abernathy is trying to hammer the idea of Barry being a necromancy enthusiast into the head of the jury, given by the extensive listing of his childhood and the years leading up to the IPRE voyage.

While it may be a stretch, Kravitz knows Abernathy has a way with words he never will.

He closes the case file with a dull _smack_ , gaining the attention of Lup and Barry, who have been engaged in a hushed conversation ever since he started reading. The gaps in the cell bars are narrow, preventing them from fully embracing, but the two have managed to hold hands fairly well.

“What do you think?” Barry asks, his expression stoic compared to his timid voice.

Kravitz sighs heavily. The temptation to lie is fogging up his sense of logic, but the pull in his gut urges him to tell the truth. “I don’t know who’s representing you, but…the ball’s not really in your court to begin with. I’m sorry.”

Barry’s eyes fall to the hand he has clasped in Lup’s, a deep crease appearing between his brows. He stays silent.

Lup, however, does not. She blanches, turning her head from Kravitz to Barry and back wildly, her mind trying to make sense of the situation. “This is bullshit…this is _bullshit!_ He didn’t do anything- _you_ didn’t do anything!”

“I know, babe. I know…” Barry mumbles.

“How did they even manage to build a case that fast? Huh? They _had_ to have phoned it all in! That folder’s filled with lies, right Krav?”

All Kravitz can do is shake his head, the muscles in his neck strained just by the simple motion. He is already beaten by today’s events and it’s only going to get worse from here. “It’s…it’s everything we told him…and anything else he could learn about your past.”

A flash of realization flashes over Lup’s face, her eyes screaming, _Oh no_. “That’s not fair. That’s not-“ Her voice cracks, along with Kravitz’ heart, and she falls silent.

Barry reaches his other hand through the cell bars and attempts to cup the side of Lup’s face, only managing to rest his fingertips on her jawbone before his wrist gets stuck. “Hey, hey babe. It’s okay. It’s alright.”

Lup squeezes her eyes shut, her grip on Barry’s hand visibly tighter. Her head falls to where her forehead rests against one of the cell bars. “It’s not, Bar. It’s really fucking not. If…i-if I had just lied-“

“You’d just be right in here with me,” Barry cuts her off. He taps the side of her face, desperately trying to lift her face up to meet his gaze. Lup does so almost begrudgingly, the rims of her eyes a faint red. “Lup, I…I can barely keep it together as it is. I-If you were in here with me, I don’t…I don’t know what I’d do.”

Memories from Story and Song flood into Kravitz’ brain as he watches this couple beside him struggle to keep their composures. A moment onboard the _Starblaster_ where Lup comforted a weeping Barry comes to mind first, another at the famous Legato Conservatory, and a snippet of a battle where the two fought as liches, side by side, incorporeal hands linked as they casted powerful spell after powerful spell.

How could a couple who went through so much be here? What cruel twist of fate brought this upon them after everything they’ve already faced?

A seedling of anger grows within Kravitz. He tries desperately not to think about Taako, how his husband will react, or how he will ever be able to show his face to him after this is over.

“H-Hey Kravitz?”

“Hmm? Yes.” Kravitz breaks away from his thoughts and turns to answer Barry.

“How are they…how can they even kill me if I’m, like…undead?”

The question hangs in the air like a body dangling from a noose: prominent, attracting attention, and incredibly haunting. A lump forms in Kravitz’ throat as he tries to answer, forcing him to swallow it down once…then twice before a word can even attempt to escape through his lips.

“Our queen can place you back in your lich form and…w-well, I assume she’ll just force you to lose control and…cease to exist.”

He hates it how his composure unravels so sporadically, simple words proving difficult to pronounce.  This is not how he should be acting right now. Barry and Lup have been reapers for decades, but their experience equals nowhere close to the centuries behind him. He is their superior. He must be better than this.

It only makes the burden on his shoulders heavier to see the way Barry visibly deflates upon hearing his answer. The man his shaking his head back and forth, his chin barely passing over his shoulders, as he bites down on his lower lip.

The absolute fury on Lup’s face makes Kravitz want to turn tail and flee. Smoke fills the air hanging around them, stinging his eyes and charring his lungs. Kravitz stops the rhythm of his breath just until the air clears up again. Lup starts shaking her own head, her canines apparent in the murderous grimace spread across her face. “She’s no queen of mine.”

Kravitz takes a literal step back, sucking a gasp of air that welcomes the smoke full access to his windpipes. He immediately starts gagging, desperately trying to gain some relieve to the burning sensation crawling up his respiratory system. “ _Lup_ , you- _ack!_ Lup you ca-an’t just s- _say something like that_!”

Lup whips herself away from Barry’s grasp so fast, it’s fully possible she would have broken a bone if she were still a mortal. A wave of fire douses over her entire body for just a split second, sending sparks flying high up towards the ceiling. “WHY THE HELL SHOULDN’T I?” she rages. “We’ve proved our loyalty to her for her for how many decades now? AND LOOK WHERE BARRY IS NOW!”

“Babe-“ Barry tries to interject.

“SHE KNOWS US! SHE KNOWS BARRY WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE _THIS!_ ”

“I unders-stand that, Lup,” Kravitz replies, finally catching his breath, “but it still doesn’t change the fact that Barry was found standing in the circle the spell was casted in. _Or_ how his arcane aura seems stronger now-“

“So you support her decision then? You support all of this-this dogshit investigating?!”

A side of Kravitz nearly screams the word no back at her at full force. The other half, the half of him that knows better, stays silent. Even with all this injustice being carried out, the clear biased in the investigation on Abernathy’s part, and Barry’s innocence standing out plain as day, a part of him still hopes all this can end peacefully. Perhaps the slim chance of the real culprit coming forward is still a possibility. The amount of bloodshed and burned bridges waiting for them can be avoided, hopefully, if he puts his trust in his queen.

He’s still waiting on his sign to take matters into his own hands. Maybe if he waits long enough, he never will.

He also has a feeling that, either way, his answer would never have satisfied Lup. The woman stares at him in disbelief, his silence speaking volumes as to where his heart lies in the matter, and the smoke slowly dissipates around her. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe _you_.”

She spits at Kravitz feet, which he rightfully deserves. He waits until she takes hold of Barry’s hand again to speak.

“The last time this spell was cast…it was in The Raven Queen’s own chamber. All her reapers…we were all assembled around her throne. She was providing us intel on a particular necromancy cult that had gotten…well, had gotten too careless with their power. She suspected it was a spell to cross over into the astral plane without the use of a portal.”

Lup refuses to look at him, her jaw set. But the twitching of her ears tell him she’s listening.

“She was right, of course. The spell was even successful. Teleported right in the middle of our group as we were meeting, started casting spells left and right at us-“

If Kravitz closes his eyes, he can still see the bolts of pure energy flying towards his form, feel the tightness in his muscles from inexperience. He sees his scythe fumble out of his hands like a child dropping their toy just as the screaming began. He should have been screaming along with them, if his mentor hadn’t pushed him out of the way.

“-and before our queen could intervein…I was the only one left. All those other reapers, my colleagues, my master, my _family_ …gone. Just like that…we never found the ones responsible.”

Lup’s ears droop down, her head dipping along with them. Kravitz looks down to the floor as Barry turns to face him.

“How…how long ago was this?”

Kravitz shrugs. “Centuries before you all arrived. Five hundred years, maybe. I’ve trained every reaper here sense.” He musters up the courage to look up and face them, locking eyes with Barry. His friend’s fear has never been more apparent to him than it is in that one moment. But if Barry never fully grasps the severity of the situation-if Lup never understands where he’s coming from-then they’ll truly be stuck in the dark.

“Our Queen cares for all her subordinates, whether that is apparent or not. She lost her family back then, too…the last thing she wants is to lose another loved one.”

He hopes they can interpret his feelings in his statement without him having to directly state them.

The silence is broken by a long, shuddery sigh from Lup. She looks back to Kravitz then, with a faint gloss covering her eyes, and simply nods.

“How…long do I have before the trail?” Barry asks hesitantly.

“I’m not sure,” Kravitz answers bluntly. He’s made himself too vulnerable; time to rebuild his walls and do so with hast. “Your representative should be here soon to meet with you…they should have been here ages ago, now that I think about it-“

It’s in that moment that Kravitz is finally given his sign. Bursting into the room with a booming cry is a raven, with feathers of pure black ebony and talons as sharp as knives. The bird soars through the room, circling over their heads as if to make sure it has fully gained their attention, before perching itself on Kravitz’ shoulder.

The bird pecks his cheek once, its message passing onto him clearly.

“That’s not my defense attorney, right?” Barry asks.

“No, not it’s not.” The bird leaps back into the air with another cry, skyrocketing towards the ceiling of the prison chambers before exploding into a mass of black smoke and ruffled feathers. “The Raven Queen is summoning me to her chambers.”


	4. The Raven Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz struggles to stay confident. The Raven Queen offers some help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for supporting the fic everyone! Sorry the updates are sporadic.

On any normal day, Kravitz would find himself in his queen’s chambers with two other reapers at his side, scythe in his hands and a pile of paperwork waiting for him when he returned.

This time, he is alone, his fingers twitching as if having a scythe to hold would be more appropriate now than ever.

The walk to The Raven Queen’s chamber is a daunting one, stretching onwards for a distance long enough to let his mind wander. There are a million ways this meeting can go, and after spilling his guts to Lup and Barry, many of them end similarly to how another meeting five hundred years ago did.

He childs himself for thinking this way. This is the last place he wants his nerves to get the better of him. Not when the lives of people he cares about are in the balance. He has placed his trust in his queen, and for now that must be enough to carry them all through this. To carry _him_ through this.

Two large steel doors greet Kravitz as he finally reaches his destination. The metallic shine of the metal is clear enough he can see how strained he is in his own reflection. Reapers shouldn’t have the need to appear as disheveled as they feel, but somehow Kravitz makes it work. Dark circles appear under his eyes, his hair is tussled and singed in various places, and it finally occurs to him he’s going to appear in front of The Raven Queen with his skull-printed boxer shorts poking through his shredded suit.

Before he can turn heel and go change his clothing, the doors swing open with a thunderous boom. Sitting in a ginormous throne of white quartz is none other than The Raven Queen herself, as phantasmal and resplendent as she is intimidating. The form she possesses is that of a tall, slender woman cloaked in the darkness of robes and raven feathers. There her widows peak would be is the top of her crown, made to look like a raven’s beak, which stretches down to cast a long shadow over her facial features. She raises a hand as Kravitz enters her chamber and beckons him forward.

Kravitz feels his knees almost give way as he kneels before her throne, ducking his head down as if to shield himself of the inevitable. What should he truly expect for her to say to him? Expect the worst. There’s nothing you can do. I cannot intervein.

Behind them, the doors to her chamber shut, shaking the floor beneath their very feet.

“Kravitz.”

Gods, just the sound of her saying his name gives him a start. “M-My queen,” he stammers to his utter shame.

He sees The Raven Queen’s shadow shift and he dares a glance up at her. She motions for him to look up at her and he timidly obeys. “There is hardly any need for me to explain to you why you are here.”

 His shoulders sag under the weight of her words. “No, there is not my queen.” Here comes his lecture. There was no way he was going to receive the lifeline he most desperately wanted, was there? Just this once, he wishes he had the power of the gods themselves to reverse time and set everything right. He knows his place, but the temptation still calls out to him either way.

“Good…it is hard for me to grasp what Sildar Hallwinter has done offend us today, as I’m sure it is for you as well.”

Agreeing with her will cut their conversation short, so Kravitz nods. If there is nothing to be done, then all he wants to do before the hearing is spend whatever time he can with his dear friend.

“Someone as devoted to his loved ones and the life he lives as him could never be capable of casting such a spell, could he?”

“I am not so sure anymore, my queen.”

The Raven Queen tilts her head. “Are you now?” She leans forward in her throne, her shadow laying over Kravitz like an icy veil. “Do you believe Sildar is capable of casting the spell that remains nameless?”

His answer will prolong their meeting, but Kravitz will be damned if he lies now. “No.”

The shadow over Kravitz seems to grow thicker. He swallows back a lump in his throat and continues. “S-S-Sidar Hallwinter….no. _Barry_. I could never see Barry ever making the decision to leave his current life behind. Not after he fought tooth and nail to keep his family together for so many years.”

“ _Hmm_ ,” The Raven Queen hums. “You really believe Barry to be innocent, do you?”

Kravitz dares himself to look past the shadow covering her face hoping he meets her eyes through the dark fog shielding them. Only on a few other occasions has he ever felt this small in his undead life, but that only means he must make his voice even louder. “ _Yes_.”

The Raven Queen continues to loom over him for a few moments longer. Then she leans back in her throne and _laughs_. The Raven Queen, the ruler over life and death itself, laughing at one of her own reapers. “Good. Just trying to make sure we were on the same page here.”

Kravitz blinks, his mind taking a second to catch up to her words. “I’m sorry, what?”

“My dear Kravitz, you know how much fondness I hold over Barry Bluejeans. Do you honestly believe I could ever find him guilty of a crime such as this?”

“I-I…guess not,” Kravitz admits sheepishly.

The Raven Queen laughs again, her voice surprisingly soft and motherly for a goddess feared by all. “Oh, and don’t worry yourself over Lup’s emotional outbursts right now. She is allowed to speak her mind in times like these. Just make sure she doesn’t pull any stunts like those in the stockade during the trial.”

Kravitz winces. “You heard that?”

“My dear, I know everything that goes on in my realm.”

“…even that one time Taako-?”

“Yes, even that. Which reminds me; tell your husband he owes some kind of imbursement for blasting a hole in the roof of the main hall.”

“Uh-yes. Yes, I’ll…g-get right to that, my queen.”

The Raven Queen nods, her amusement silent yet extremely palpable. “Now as for Barry…you must understand there is nothing I can do to stop the trial.”

Right. Barry’s about to die. There will be time to fuss over the property damage caused by Taako later. “I understand, my queen,” he answers dejectedly.

“All the other gods and goddesses have been bombarding me with their concerns, many of them threatening to skip the trial and cut themselves off from this plane. It’s been a nightmare trying to calm them down, and by this point their fear overpowers my say in the matter.”

Kravitz gaze drops. Of course the gods are afraid. This is the only spell that can knock them off their high horse and show them they can be vulnerable at times. Barry’s chances are growing slimmer and slimmer with every new complaint brought to the court.

“At this point, I am being forced to focus all my attention onto keeping everyone in check,” The Raven Queen continues. “Along with the gods, there has been an influx of riots in the eternal stockade and several of your old pupils have been caught trying to tamper with the evidence of the trial.”

Kravitz opens his mouth to speak.

“No, none of them were Abernathy.”

He closes it, pushing aside his utter disappointment to continue listening.

“I’m afraid I’ll have my back turned to you while dealing with the fallout, Kravitz. It’ll be quite sometime before I will be able to get back to you, or keep eye out on what happens even after the verdict is carried out. My hands are tied.”

Kravitz nods. No help will be coming his way. A part of him knew this was the only inevitable outcome. How could he let himself get so damn hopeful. “I understand my queen… _wait._ ”

 Back turned? After the verdict? Her hands are tied?

Oh, how he loves his queen.

Kravitz beams up at The Raven Queen, who is currently using a hand to cover her mouth as he snickers. “Are you really saying-?”

“I am Kravitz.” A sliver of shadow shifts away from her lips to reveal a glistening row of teeth and a smile that melts all of Kravitz’ worries away. “Who would I be if I didn’t give Barry the chance to clear his name?”

The implication of her giving him permission to go against the court’s decision remains unspoken but is as clear as day.

Kravitz feels a wave or reassurance wash over him. He can’t stop smiling, and it takes most of his concentration to convert back to his stoic nature. “Who indeed, my queen.”

His thanks also goes unspoken, but that hardly needs to be implied.

The doors behind Kravitz open, signaling the end of their meeting. With a courteous bow, Kravitz turns towards the opening and begins to make his leave.

“However, Kravitz…”

He stops in his tracks, looking back to The Raven Queen as her tone suddenly grows serious.

“If you find that Barry is in fact…responsible for his actions…I shouldn’t have to tell you what to do.”

The skip in Kravitz’ step dies. “I…I understand, m-my queen,” he answers meekly.

When he is finally free from The Raven Queen’s chamber, he finds the hallway leading out of it to be even longer than before.

He also finds that several reapers are running through a path that cuts through his nearly adjacently, all of them apparently flustered and racing like their life depends on it.

“What’s going on here?” Kravitz demands, hoping to mask his previous apprehension.

One of the reapers answers him as they run past. “The trial’s started early!”

“Hallwinter’s already on the stand!” Another follows up with.

That’s not right. None of this is right. The Raven Queen isn’t even there yet. How could they start the trial without her?

All signs point to Abernathy, but Kravitz knows the blame is to share with the handful of beings that run their plane. Newfound confidence nearly depleted, he runs full speed towards the courtroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: that scene in To Kill a Mockingbird where Atticus Finch just owns it with his closing statement


	5. Lady Istus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz acts. Barry is questioned. Johann steps up to the plate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see.
> 
> Sorry for the wait! Life got in the way, but I'm so happy with how this chapter turned out. I hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> Also, I was introduced to the podcast Wolf 359 and hooooooly MOLY. Stop reading this. Go listen to all the episodes and come back. It's absolutely wonderful and made me cry several times 10/10. (and I may or may not have started writing a fic for that series too wink wink...)

The courtroom is in utter chaos when Kravitz bursts in.

Reapers are running ramped, trying to grab a seat close to the action while every conceivable god who controls their plane take their spots in the jury section. Everyone is yelling, the main offenders being the immortal beings who are pointing over at Barry. Barry is stuffed into the defendant’s stand, his arms tightly bound in cuffs forged out of the same material that makes us their scythes; it can only be broken with a blessing from a god or goddess.

No one in attendance today would even consider handing him one today.

Death threats hang in the like electric coils, shocking Kravitz with the realization that everyone in this room wants his friend dead besides a collect few. That collect few being Lup and Johann, who had somehow managed to save him a seat in the very front row nearest to the defendant’s stand.

“What the bloody hell is going on here?” he demands, squeezing into his seat between the two.

“Don’t know,” Johann tells him bluntly. The Raven Queens royal bard looks like he just came from a warmup, his prized rosewood violin tucked carefully at his side along with his bow. “Everybody just started making their way over here once the gods just showed up. I was one of the first ones here.”

“They came and took him without warning,” Lup says, her face red with rage. “Didn’t even give us a chance to say goodbye. Just slapped those restraints on and they were gone.”

“Who came and got him?” Kravitz asks.

“Who do you think?” Lup points over to a composed-looking Abernathy pacing around the defendant’s stand, a manila folder sitting in his hands.

Kravitz groans. “Why did I even bother asking?”

Johann leans forward in his seat. “How did they already get a case built against Barry?”

“Leave it to Abernathy to get the job done,” Kravitz says with fake enthusiasm. His eyes wander around the courtroom, taking in the scene. Besides the gods and fueling their anger with fear, a dozen well-armed reapers stand guard near every entrance and exit. It’s blatantly clear no one will be getting in or out of the courtroom without a fight.

When he closes his eyes, the only auroras he can detect are of The Raven Queen’s, enveloping every one of her embassies, and the divine powers of the jury. That much energy in one place is enough to make his head swim, but he pushes past the nausea and focuses.

In the haste to start the trial, someone failed to put ward that blocked all teleportation magic.

Suddenly, another aurora enters the courtroom, snuffing out everyone else’s power like a dark cloud. Kravitz’ eyes snap open just in time to witness a murder of ravens fly into the room and conceal into a massive figure. The birds start to materialize into an actual person, and before anyone can react The Raven Queen takes her seat ono the judge’s chair.

“SILENCE.”

With one authoritative cry, the entire courtroom falls silent, as if there never was any commotion in the first place. Kravitz can feel his queen’s aurora swirling all around him, offering him some sense of comfort in this mess of a day. He’s lucky a god’s power is strongest in their own domain, and he just happens to be in the domain with his patron.

“I demand to know who called this court together in my kingdom without my permission,” The Raven Queen continues.

“There’s hardly any point to that matter,” one of the gods speaks up.

“I beg your pardon?”

“This vial disgrace of your force of reapers threatens our very existence!” another god cries somewhere in the back of the jury stand. “He should be executed on the spot!”

“Why is this trial even necessary?!” Someone new cries.

“Death to Hallwinter!”

“Death to the traitor!”

“Death to the traitor,” cry the attendees of reapers behind them, much to Kravitz’ horror. To his left and right, Lup and Johann scream in protest, with the occasional “Fuck you!” thrown in for added measure.

“ENOUGH!”

A new voice emerges from the jury and standing from her seat is the goddess Istus herself. The goddess of fate has a partly-woven tapestry in her hands, her fingers working her knitting needles tirelessly through the wool. “The fate of this man lies in our very hands; like every other being brought to our judgement, he deserves our utmost attention. Denying him a right given to all at birth goes against everything we are as the rulers of this very plane of existence.”

The Raven Queen nods in the goddess’ direction. “Thank you, Istus.” Istus takes her seat again, entirely focused on completing her work. “Let it be known the person responsible for starting this trial without my presence will be severely punished-“

Kravitz takes pleasure in the quiver in Abernathy’s lip.

“-but for now, the trial will resume.” She looks around the courtroom and settles her eyes on the attendees. “It appears that there is not a defense attorney ready to defend Mr. Hallwinter. Would one with the proper credentials please stand up to the task?”

No one bulges from their seat. Kravitz’ heart sinks to the bottom of his chest, his hands shaking with disappointment.

The Raven Queen sighs. “Would anyone be willing to assist Mr. Hallwinter?”

Kravitz, Lup, and Johann all stand up at once, the latter nearly dropping his violin in the process. Cries of protest emerge all around them. The Raven Queen silences them with another command. “I am sorry Kravitz, Lup, but I cannot allow either of you to stand in. Immediate family members subbing in could compromise the case.”

The words speak volumes of hurt, for both Kravitz and Lup and the queen herself. Kravitz can hear how much it pains her to keep some ounce of order in her court. And even if the two of them aren’t immediate family members per say, the history the three of them share is held against them just the same.

“However, Johann, you may stand up for the defendant if you wish.”

Kravitz looks to Johann, his head held high as he nods defiantly. “Sure, I’ll do it.”

Vulgar comments are hurled Johann’s way with senseless cruelty, but the bard refuses to sit back down. There’s no doubt he’ll never find respect among anyone in the astral plane again, and yet here he is doing the right thing like a true hero.

Kravitz leans close to Johann’s ear and speaks with haste. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Johan shrugs. “Who else was gonna? I can’t guarantee how good a job I’ll do.”

“Just buy me enough time to come up with something.”

Johann blinks. “You thinking of a plan?”

“Part of a plan, at least,” he admits quickly before the crowd is silenced yet again. She motions for everyone to sit down, minus Johann who stumbles his way out of the bleachers and behind the defense attorney’s desk. The man looks so out of place where he is, with his instrument placed right beside him. What has their justice system become?

The Raven Queen looks to Abernathy with a curt nod. “You may begin your questioning.”

The break in Abernathy’s façade is smoothed over with a simple, coy smile. “Thank you, my queen.” He opens the folder in his hands, pacing in front of the defendant stand like a snake slithering after its prey. “Mr. Hallwinter…you’ve got quite an extensive background of necromancy practice, don’t you?”

Kravitz knows Barry to be an easily-flustered man, the quickest wink from Lup turning his face beet red. However, somehow his friend has managed to keep his facial features still and composed. “Yes.”

Abernathy raises an eyebrow. “So you admit to your previous attempts at manipulating the laws of life and death, correct?”

“Yes,” Barry mutters shortly.

“Meaning you’ll admit to the charges I’m about to read to the court? Most of these you were pardoned for, given your, uh, _background_ , but should be taken note of.”

Johann shoots out of his chair, nearly falling over himself. He raises a hand in the air. “O-Objection, your honor! Uh, that’s improper character evidence.”

It’s a stretch, but Kravitz is surprised that the bard even knows the proper rules of an objection. Maybe Barry stands a chance after all.

The Raven Queen considers for a moment but shakes her head. “Overruled. Continue, Abernathy.”

Abernathy does, gladly. “The charges are as followed: raising animals from the dead, experimentation on human corpses, research on lich creation, turning yourself _and_ your girlfriend into liches, countless instances of creating a new flesh body with an illegal grow-pod, and finally the offense that has brought you here today.” He takes his time tucking his folder away, letting his words truly sink into the audience’s ears. “Can you explain what brought you to commit such crimes, Mr. Hallwinter?”

Barry straightens his back, his forehead glistening with sweat. Kravitz knows he’s probably just as sweaty himself. “I was a naïve child who didn’t understand the natural order of the world, that I will take responsibility for. But My work onboard the _Starblaster_ and the decade that followed helped to save this plane from The Hunger. That I will not apologize for.”

“Hmm.” Abernathy crosses his arms. “You do admit to purposefully using necromancy when placed in a difficult situation, though?”

Barry blinks. “If that’s what you want to call saving all of existence, I suppose so.”

Abernathy starts pacing again. “This group of necromancers you’ve been tracking this past month have been a difficult bunch to collect, am I right?”

“Objection, relevance!” Johann shoots up again.

“Mr. Abernathy,” The Raven Queen speaks,” do you have a point to this?”

“I’m getting there, my queen,” he assures her.

“Then overruled. Continue.”

“This group has alluded you for so long, taken so many innocent lives across Faerun,” Abernathy continues, “that the three of you must have been feeling pretty desperate, correct?”

Barry squirms in his seat. “I wouldn’t say we were desperate-“

“Answer the question, Mr. Hallwinter,” Abernathy cuts him off.

Barry sighs. “Yes.”

“You were running out of sittings, out of resources. Eventually, something had to give. This group had to be stopped…so you did the one thing you thought was right.”

Lup grips the railing placed in front of the benches, her knuckles white.

“You did your research, waited until your next run-in, and made sure the problem was taken care of, correct?”

“Objection-!”

“Isn’t that right, Mr. Hallwinter?”

“ _Objection-!_ ”

“FUCK YOU!” Lup screams, leaping out of her seat before Kravitz can stop her.

“THAT’S TRUTH ISN’T IT, MR. HALLWINTER?”

“ _ENOUGH!_ ”

But it’s too late. The rest of the courtroom falls into disarray. Various gods demand that Barry’s head be brought to them on a silver platter, nearly all the reapers with their scythes out and ready to believer on such a promise. Lup climbs up on the railing and readies herself to leap over but Kravitz holds her back. She won’t get far before she’s stopped, arrested, or worse cut down.

Johann turns to them, completely unsure of what to do. The bard’s violin has fallen to the ground, most likely while he was trying to get Abernathy to listen to him. There’s a crack in the instrument’s neck.

Everything has gone to hell. The commotion is too great to be put to a standstill now, and any moment now the crowd is going to take matters into their own hands.

Kravitz’ eyes dart around the room, anxious for any slack that could possibly be handed to him. He can’t lose Barry; he refuses to lose his friend today, or ever. There has to be something he can do with his one-fifth of a plan.

He keeps looking until finally, he locks eyes with the one goddess in the entire court still positioned in her seat. She holds up her hands, revealing to Kravitz a perfectly-woven tapestry.

Depicted in the woven yarn is the design of a raven flying out of its cage.

The goddess motions to the defendant’s stand, where Barry is looking down at his bindings in shock.

He’s been given a blessing from Istus herself.

Now is the time to act. Without even the time to mouth the goddess a thank you, Kravitz yanks Lup back into her seat and casts _Sleep_ before she can react. It’s one of the few spells he remembers from his mortal days, one he can also cast with ease. He knows Lup will never forgive him for this, but at least this way one of them will make it home to Taako. Lup slumps forward into his chest, anger still etched onto her face, and snores softly into his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers to her slumbering form. “Please trust me.”

He leans her back in her chair and leaps over the railing in one, swift motion. The crowd seethes in fury, yelling like wild animals as he guns it to the defendant’s stand. In one hand, his scythe materializes into his palm, already arching down to form a gateway to the one place in the entire astral plane he knows to be safe. With the other, he grabs Barry’s wrist and drags him to his feet.

“GO _NOW!_ ”

Before Barry can protest, Kravitz shoves them both into the portal, praying to his queen and Istus herself that he can set things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *to be continued arrow*


	6. Magnus Burnsides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz swims. Barry sees an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about some good ol' reunions before things really hit the rails, huh?
> 
> Btw thanks to everyone who has supported this fic! You all are so sweet :)

The moment Kravitz and Barry emerged on the opposite side of the portal, they fall face-first into the sea of souls.

Memories of various lifetimes flash through Kravitz’ mind-a father playing with his young daughter, a women proposing to her girlfriend, a dog chasing after its owner-before his head pops back above the surface of the water. He gasps (again not really needing to hold his breath in the first place but the habit remains) and frantically searches for Barry, who bobs up a second later. His glasses are gone, undoubtedly falling into the sea during the fall. They must be sinking further and further down at this very moment.

“Kravitz!” Barry sputters. “Kravitz, where-?”

“I’m right here!” Kravitz calls, reaching over and placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. He knows Barry is both a) as blind as a bat and b) confused as all hell. “Just keep drifting. I’m gonna drag us to shore.”

“What the-What the hell did you do-?!” Barry falls back under the water for just a moment before popping back up again, shaking sea water off his face.

“I’ll- _ack!_ I’ll explain in just a minute! Just give me…a chance…to swim…a _little bit farther_ …!”

At an agonizingly slow pace, Kravitz manages to drag the two of them across the sea and to a small, secluded island in the middle of nowhere. Tall pine trees stretch up into the infinite heavens above, their existence in the middle of the land of the dead a miracle in its own right. The sand beneath their soaked bodies is damp and soft to the touch, like a line layer of cotton covered in morning dew.

In the air hangs the rustic scent of sap and fireplace smoke, which billows calmly out of a cobblestone chimney attacked to a small wooden cottage. The cottage of made of a beautiful, dark golden wood the name of which escapes Kravitz, with expertly cut windows spread out along the walls. Through the glass plains, delicate candlelight shines through onto the green grass surrounding the building.

“Where…where are we?” Barry heaves, pulling himself up onto his knees.

Kravitz coughs up a good size bit of water out of his lungs. Taking up breathing again comes with its downsides. “Somewhere safe…don’t worry…”

“Does anybody know where we are?”

“Only our queen,” Kravitz groans as he sits up. He wrings the excess water out of his hair, watching the droplets hit the sand in abstract patterns. “Heh. If Abernathy knew about this place, he’d never stop whining about how I struck a deal with her.”

“A deal?”

Kravitz rises onto his feet and offers Barry a hand, helping his friend to his. “C’mon, let’s head inside. Maybe we can find you some glasses in there.”

Everything about this tiny island emanates a kind, hospitable heaven; the exact kind of heaven Kravitz needs right now. The soil beneath their feet makes it seem as if the two of them are walking on clouds, and the view of the pine trees from below them is absolutely gorgeous. Despite everything he’s been through today, it puts a smile on Kravitz face.

They reach the front door and Kravitz rasps his knuckles against the carved wood gently four times. Immediately, the sound of barking dogs can be heard from within.

Barry cocks an eyebrow. “Dogs? On an island in the middle of the Sea of Souls?”

“You’ll see,” Kravitz assures him with a cheeky grin. This will be the one highlight of his day, seeing Barry’s reaction to what’s inside the cottage.

A few seconds pass before the door opens and two dogs come rushing out to greet them. Kravitz finds an old Scottish deer hound lapping at his fingertips while another old blood hound starts aggressively sniffing Barry’s jeans.

“H-Hey,” Barry gasps, “that looks like-“

He doesn’t get to finish his thought, because a moment later the late Magnus Burnsides steps out into the doorway, as young as the first day he entered Raven’s Roost. His face is devoid of all age and wrinkles, shiny and pristine as if he were still alive. His trademark attribute, his wonderful sideburns, are bushy and rid of all gray hairs they once had in his mortal life. The scar covering his right eye is still there, along with the various others covering his exposed arms, which are full of the muscles he once used to swing his battle axe.

When Magnus smiles, even his missing tooth is still there. “Barry?!”

Barry’s jaw drops, his eyes going wide. “M-Magnus? Magnus?!”

Magnus laughs, a big hearty laugh, and wraps his dearest friend in a gigantic bear hug. “Holy shit! Barry! I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Magnus. _Magnus_ ,” Barry nearly whimpers, his eyes welling with joyful tears. He buries his face into the crook of Magnus’ neck and lets out a sob, a sob Kravitz knows he’s been holding in all day. The two men hold onto each other for a long time, long enough for Magnus’ two dogs to grow tired and plop down in the grass.

Finally, they let go of the embrace. Barry quickly tries to wipe away the tears streaming down his face. Magnus continues to let his flow freely. “W-What are you doing here? I thought the deal was only Kravitz could come by?”

“It’s…a long story,” Kravitz informs him. “Listen, Magnus. We need a place to lay low for a few days.”

“No prob. Wait a minute, that sounds shady.” Magnus laughs. “You, you guys aren’t like, running from the reaper police or something are you?”

His smile drops when neither Kravitz or Barry laughs with him. “Wait, you really are-?”

“Magnus? Is that Kravitz?” Another voice calls from inside the cottage. Magnus pushes his way out of the doorway as a lady with a bandana tied around as a headband comes over to them. The lady stops suddenly, gives Barry a quick look over, and smirks. “You’re Barry Bluejeans, right?”

“You…y-you’re Julia,” Barry says right back, looking like he might cry again. He reaches a shaky hand out to her, which she takes proudly.

“The one and only. Mags has told me a lot about you. Is it true you only own one pair of jeans?”

“Uh, Jules,” Magnus clears his throat (Kravitz isn’t sure if it’s to find out what the two of them are wanted for or to keep Barry’s dignity somewhat intact). “They need a place to hide.”

“Oh?” Julia quickly grows serious. “Alright. What did you two do? I know there must be a reason Krav broke the rules to bring you here, Bluejeans.”

Barry coughs nervously. “I may have been…accused of casting a spell that can kill anything dead or alive…including gods.”

Magnus blinks. “Oh shit.”


	7. The Lich

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz acts on a hunch. Barry and Magnus fret. Julia gets ready for the pitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait again! I'm trying to get chapters out as fast as I can while also making sure I'm posting good content.
> 
> Since the last chapter, I finally beat Super Mario Odyssey after like three months and I'm real proud of myself. I'm so bad at video games y'all. Also I miss amnesty with all my dang heart

Kravitz wrings his hands together nervously in his lap, his eyes focused on Barry, who is currently pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Across the table from him is Julia, her own gaze downcast as she processes the story the two of them have just retold her. Every action of the past twenty-four hours replays through Kravitz mind in a constant cycle of disbelief. Part of him is still convinced this is all some kind of nightmare.

“That’s…some deep shit,” is all Julia manages to utter after a while.

As they all stew, Magnus walks into the room carrying a plate of steaming cups of cider in his hands. He sets the drinks down gently in front of each of them, his rustic hospitality offering little to aid the situation. Kravitz appreciates the kind gesture either way.

“Careful, it’s hot,” he tells them before planting a kiss to Julia’s forehead and walking back out of the room.

When Magnus disappears completely through the doorway, Barry finally breaks. “We can’t stay here.”

“What?” Julia and Kravitz ask in unison.

“Just think about it. The entire body of gods and goddesses is after our necks; they’ll figure out where we are. The Raven Queen might tell them-“

“She won’t,” Kravitz says sternly. “She gave me her word.”

Barry raises a brow. “And when did she do that?”

“Right before your trial. When she called me into her chambers,” he tells him.

Barry leans forward in his seat. “Can we _really_ trust her?”

Kravitz nearly gasps, the words hitting him almost as a slap to the face. “Barry, she is our _queen_.”

“Kravitz, I’m _not_ dragging Mags into this,” he whispers sternly under his breath. “Or Julia. Not after what they’ve been through.”

Kravitz sighs. “Barry, we’re not going to get either of them involved.”

“Then what are we _doing here?!_ ”

“Hiding until he can make heads or tails of what’s going on.” _Or until we can find another place to hide_ , he thinks. “You’re never going to get a chance to clear your name if cold, hard facts aren’t brought back to the court. So let’s go over what we know.”

Julia takes a loud slurp of her cider and puts her mug down with a soft clank, gaining their attention. “It sounds like to me this has nothing to do with this Abernathy kid. Guy’s too caught up in his grudge-match with Kravitz to put so much effort into going after Barry. If he really wanted to hit you were it hurt, he’d frame you instead, wouldn’t he?”

Kravitz thinks for a moment. “The opposite hurts more, actually…but no, Abernathy is not capable of this.”

“How do you know that?” Barry demands. “He took our history onboard the _Starblaster_ a-and manipulated it- _twisted it_ just so he could build an unfair advantage against me when. The court already wasn’t in my favor.”

“You don’t know Abernathy like I do,” Kravitz reminds him. “He’s petty, and arrogant…and he never thinks things through. I can’t make excuses for him. In fact, it’ll be a miracle if I don’t rain hell down on top of him for desecrating your days onboard the _Starblaster_. But at heart…he’s just the same child I was asked to train. Scared, impulsive, and too eager to please. Whatever turmoil he’s facing with himself has been shifted your way and I’m truly sorry.”

The scowl on Barry’s face slowly begins to soften. “Alright, I’ll take your word for him. But now we don’t have a suspect to pin this on.”

“Not exactly,” Kravitz begins. “Do you remember that one necromancer that got the upper hand on me shortly before your arrest?”

“You mean the one that knocked you on your ass?”

“Who knocked Kravitz on his ass?” Magnus asks, walking back in with the most impeccable timing.

Kravitz’ cheeks heat up with embarrassment “T-That’s not important! What is important is that was the same necromancer you were giving their final rights to before the spell-that-will-not-be-named was casted.”

“Oh, well then the answer’s pretty obvious then,” Julia comments. “The fool wanted some revenge for you killin’ him so he framed you before he kicked the bucket. Right?”

“Right, but I don’t think he’s dead.”

Barry stares at him. “Uh, and you know that how…?”

Kravitz takes a deep breath. “The first time I witness the spell be casted…the necromancers physically teleported themselves into our domain, but after they cast the spell, the abandoned their corporeal forms and escaped as liches. My guess back then…and the only one I still have is that it was easier for them to avoid killing themselves in the process. Barry, the necromancer’s body disappeared after the spell was cast…which means there might be a lich loose in the world with a deadly killing curse at their disposal.”

Which means this incident isn’t just placing Barry or himself in danger; every living soul whose name has yet to be pinned with a bounty could have a premature ending. Including the remaining crew of the _Starblaster_ who are still alive, Mavis, Mookie, Angus, _Taako_ -

No. He can’t even imagine a world where Taako just ceased to exist anymore. Such a world can’t even be conceivable, or at least one he could stand to be a part of.

“We have to find that lich,” Barry concludes.

“Well, how do you do that?” Magnus asks. “Do you two have, like, a lich radar or something?”

“Sorta,” Barry informs him. “W-We can sense necromantic activity and-yes, we can sense liches. We have a “lich radar,” but…I haven’t sensed anything since before I was arrested.” He turns to look at Kravitz. “Krav, have you?”

Kravitz shakes his head. “No. No I haven’t since anything except-“

His heart stops with a terrible realization, the kind of realization that quickly turns to an agonizing dread that sinks all the way down to his toes. Head lowered, he shuts his eyes tight and waits until any lingering hopes he once had for Barry’s survival flutter away.

“Krav? Kravitz, w-what’s wrong?”

Kravitz’ hands are shaking just as much as Barry’s voice as he stands up and summons forth his scythe. His weapon of choice, for him and all the reapers under The Raven Queen’s command, for ridding the plane of wayward souls.

Barry jumps out of his seat, sending it crashing to the wooden floorboards beneath them. “K-Kravitz?! W-W-What are you doing?!”

Julia leaps out of her own chair, holding up her mug of cider as her improvised weapon. “Whoa there, Kravitz. Take a minute to think about what you’re doing.” Her voice is impossibly calm in such an escalated situation; it’s no wonder she made such a great leader in the Raven’s Roost rebellion. While she tries to talk him down, Magnus takes a different approach to defuse the situation, reaching around the corner of the doorway to retrieve his prized battle axe. There’s conflict in his eyes but Kravitz knows he’ll go down defending Barry-defending his brother-before he ever believes him.

“Kravitz, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I-I didn’t do it!” Barry cries. “C’mon man, you can’t give in like everyone else. Please!”

"I'm so sorry,” is all he can force himself to mutter as he raises his scythe in the air above him. He should have known the moment he sensed Barry's sudden spike in arcane energy that something was wrong. He was just to blind to realize it until now.

Time slows down as he brings his scythe down, razor-sharp tip coming dangerously close to Barry’s skull. As Julia reels back her throwing arm and Magnus rushes in with his axe, Barry’s skin begins to slow a sickly grey. His terror-stricken eyes roll into the back of his head as a sudden rush of black fog shoots out of his mouth and materializes into the vague outline of a hunkering figure.

As Kravitz watches their main suspect project himself out of his friend’s body, his scythe notches itself with a deafening _crack!_ into the floorboards, just like he intended.

The room seems to darken as the lich fully forms, its lower half still attached to Barry’s mouth. A pair of beady misting eyes find Kravitz’ and narrow. Julia lowers her arm, Magnus freezes in place.

“What…the _fuck_ ,” the fighter whispers.

“You’re too clever for your own good,” the lich hisses at Kravitz. “Couldn’t leave well-enough alone.”

“Says the fool who trapped himself in a dead-man’s body,” Kravitz fires back. He pulls his scythe out of the floorboards and readies himself for another attack. “Think I wouldn’t notice an unusual amount of energy coming from my subordinate? And what was your plan anyway? Sneak out into another vessel in the astral plane unnoticed? Or wait just before your victim was put down to make a getaway?”

“The whole system of live and death is rigged. Eternal life is only granted to those who worship the queen. Everyone else is left in the dust.”

“Not everyone is a worshipper,” Kravitz informs him. “Maybe do a bit more research and find a little faith.”

“You reapers disgust me.”

“Likewise.” Kravitz raises his scythe. “Let him _go_.”

“Or what? You gonna cut me down?” The lich laughs. “Sorry chum, but the “End Game” spell ain’t the only one I’ve picked up over the years. See, I’ve created a bit of an incentive for you to let me keep renting out my little space here.”

“Please enlighten me.”

“I’d like to call it a bit of a deadman switch. You reap me, you kill your buddy here in the process. I’ve linked our souls together and set it to where the “End Game” spell whisks us away for good.”

“You couldn’t-!” Magnus gasps.

“I did. Besides, if you think otherwise, you really gonna take that chance?”

Kravitz spares a moment to look Barry over in his current state. His knees are wobbling violently, every muscle in his limbs spazzing out under the power the lich has him under. There’s no doubt in his mind how painful it must be. This conversation needs to end sooner rather than later.

“What do you want?”

“I know what this man did from _Story and Song_ day. I want a new body.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Oh really?” Without warning, the lich tears himself higher up from Barry’s mouth, pausing the man to moan in agony as his soul is slowly torn apart from the inside. A few fat tears roll down Barry’s cheeks.

“Don’t!” Magnus cries. “Gods, please.”

Kravitz has no choice but to give in. Barry’s corporeal form can’t take much more of this, and once his body gives out their souls will dissipate, activating the deadman switch. “Fine, you’ll get your body.”

“Excellent.” The lich lowers himself back down and cackles shortly. “There’s a vial of blood buried twenty-five yards northeast from the grounds you slaughtered me on. Bring it to the pods the hero here used and get the regrowth process started.”

“What will you do with him in that time? It’ll take months before your body is ready, and I’m certainly not allowing you to take Barry on a joyride.”

“Well, what other choice do you have? It’s not like I can go anywhere else. Either you do as I say, or you can say goodbye to your little friend forever.”

Kravitz is fully aware Magnus’ pleading eyes are trained on him despite how he’s looking at the floor. If he agrees to this, he’s aiding a mass murderer in their plot. But if he says no, Lup is without her lover. Taako, Magnus, and Lucretia are without their brother. The rest of their family will be beyond devastated; they won’t even get a chance to say goodbye.

“You’ll get your body. You have my word.”

“I better,” the lich quips, his amusement evident in his tone. “Until then, just know I’ll know if you try to do anything funny. And if you do…”

The lich doesn’t finish his thought, simply sinking back into Barry’s body and allowing his threat to hang stagnate in the air. Kravitz doesn’t even get a chance to question him on where he learned his spells from.

With the lich back inside him, Barry’s body shudders wildly before he falls forward. Magnus reaches him before Kravitz does, cradling his brother delicately in his arms before he has a chance to hit the ground.

Magnus looks him over, his head shaking. “He’s out cold…he’s out…fuck me.”

“Kravitz.” Julia sets her mug down and makes her way to the other side of the table. “That…that _thing_. Do you really think-?”

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I hope not, but…I-I can’t be sure. I’ve never heard of any spell like that before. I need to know where he learned it from.”

“Is Barry going to be alright?” Magnus asks, his eyes glossed over. “He’s not moving or breathing or-“

Kravitz kneels beside the two of them and places a hand on Magnus’ shoulder. “We don’t need to breathe Magnus. We only do out of habit.”

“Then how do you know he’s still with us?”

“If the deadman switch was activated, you’d be in the middle of some sort of spell marking or something. Barry will wake up, don’t worry.”

“Then you’d better get a move on before he does,” Julia tells him. Kravitz stands as she continues. “If that bastard can see or hear everything that’s going on from Barry’s perspective, he’ll want to know what you’re getting up to.”

The last thing Kravitz wants to do is abandon the three of them, especially since now there’s an extremely deadly lich currently inhabiting their once peaceful island, but he knows Julia is right. “I need to go back to the crime scene, try to figure out how to stop the spell, or find out if he was bluffing or not.”

“Think you can figure it out on your own?”

“No. With ancient spells like these, I’ll need a miracle to catch a lead…” He trails off. Suddenly, a light goes off inside his head. “Or just a really good detective.”

Magnus must reach the same conclusion he does because when Kravitz looks down at him, he’s smiling. “Hell yeah you do.”

Kravitz smiles back, but quickly frowns again. “Wait, I can’t…I can’t just _leave_ you two here with that monster. Barry was right, I did just drag you into this.”

As hot shame boils in his gut, Magnus and Julia spare a glance with each other before turning to him. “Krav, you’re family to us,” Magnus starts.

“We’re gonna do anything we can to help you two,” Julia finishes.

“But you two deserve to rest in peace-“ he tries to protest.

“They’ll be plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company later,” she cuts him off. “Don’t worry about us, alright? Worry about stopping this lich.”

“Liches get stitches,” Magnus grins. “Remember?”

Despite everything, Kravitz laughs. “How could I forget? Taako brings it up all the time over dinner.” With his scythe, he swiftly opens a portal to the land of the living. “I’ll find a way to make it up to you two, I promise.”

Julia waves a hand at him. “Don’t even mention it.”

He laughs again. “And…and watch over Barry for me. T-Tell him I’m sorry for…well all of this.”

“We will,” Magnus assures him. “Tell Ango I said hi.”

Kravitz gives him a nod before stepping through the portal, appearing on the other side directly in front of the McDonald family’s place of residence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *me writing the end of this chapter* it's almost ango time!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey thanks for reading bud. Have a swell day.


End file.
